Game Off
by Wallyhorse
Summary: A followup to Deadlocked that also is in part based on what happened following the release of the PlayStation3 on November 17, 2006 and also provides some possible backstory on Nina Cassidy and Connie Rubirosa. It also has Dani Beck at the end of her tour
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimers:_** The main "Law & Order franchise" characters are owned by Dick Wolf, and are only borrowed for this story suggestion. This is based in part on robberies that happened after the PlayStation 3 machines went on sale on November 17, 2006 and is also a follow-up to the season 17 episode "Deadlock."

Title: **_Game Off_**

The story opens on a clear and mild Friday evening before Thanksgiving in November with temperatures around 60 and Det. Nina Cassidy quickly walking out of a restaurant on University Place and 12th street, clearly upset at how a date she was on was going (and dressed for such, wearing a tanked, above-the-knee dress under her leather trenchcoat with black, 4" stiletto pumps and a white headwrap/hairband in her hair). After walking very quickly for a block north, Nina would be amazed seeing a line of people that had the end east of 13th towards Broadway, west on 13th, up University Place from 13th to 14th before turning east on 14th street and then down Broadway back to the entrance of a mega electronics store on 13th street that had a special midnight opening scheduled when the latest electronics gadget, GameSet4 was to go on sale, with a limited number available at a cost of $600 each, but expected to garner much more via online auctions. Nina's looking at the line and her amazement of such was enough of a distraction for her when she was about to walk east on 13th street to see what was going on, she wasn't concentrating on the street and the heel of her left shoe gets stuck in the subway grating.

"Damn!!", was Nina's reaction to realizing what happened as she first carefully stepped out of her shoe before turning around to get it out of the grating, but before having a chance to heard what was gunfire and a sudden scene of panic, with Nina leaving it there, ditching the other shoe (kicking it to the side of a building for it to be as much out of the way as possible) and running barefoot with her gun and badge out while seeing a car make a sudden turn onto 13th street and speed west as people told her two or three people had been shot on Broadway between 13th and 14th streets. Uniformed officers had joined Nina before she had a chance to call this into the 2-7 (including reporting the car speeding, after doing so calling Ed to alert him), and in the aftermath, there were three people dead and two others injured in the shooting, along with several others who were injured in the mad scramble to get out of there that followed where a fourth person died after being accidentally pushed down on the subway grating and then being trampled over by people fleeing.

"Can't believe one of the dead is Luann Carter. I doubt she'd be in the line waiting for this game, especially the way she's dressed" (wearing a knee-length skirt suit with a pair of flip-flops she apparently was wearing with the suit laying next to her dead body), said Ed Green to his new partner upon seeing the body. Also there was Dani Beck (dressed as she customarily would be for work), who was filling in for Olivia Benson in the Special Victims Unit as Elliot Stabler's partner, but was about to complete her tour of duty there and was expected to return to the warrants division once Olivia officially returned. Dani happened to live a few blocks over on 13th street and 3rd avenue and was on her way home when the shooting happened.

"As in the daughter of Dena Carter?", asked Dani.

"Yes, the one who is about to stand trial for her involvement in the murder of Leon Vorgitch. You know Nina and I had to deal with that killer that led up to her defending the man who shot him after his daughter was murdered in the school", then said Ed as he backed up, almost stepping on Nina's foot, then turning around after Nina had to jump out of the way, with Nina saying while holding her hands between her hips and shoulders in a bit of a defensive pose, then pointing to her feet, "Whoa, Detectives, you forget I don't have any shoes on and have to be very careful moving around here, as that grating and bare feet are not a great mix", referring to the subway grating closest to the curb.

"What happened to those?", asked Ed.

"If no one grabbed them, they're still on 13th and University Place, one of them in the subway grating that I was about to pull it out of when I heard the shots, the other outside a back entranceway to a building that isn't used at this hour", then said Nina, as one of the uniformed officers went to see if her shoes were still there, returning with them to Nina's relief a minute or so later (equally amazed that no one tried to take them nor there being any apparent damage to them) and putting them back on while the Detectives began talking with witnesses as to what happened, of which there were many from the line for the GameSets.

"There were people trying all night to try to cut in front of us in line, and we had been here since about 6:30 last night. Some of the people in front of us had been there for two, three days even. We all wanted to get that new gameset in the worst way, though I think the ones in front of us wanted to be absolutely sure they got it, as some of them had been saying how it was worth doing as there were those who didn't want to wait in line forever willing to pay five figures for the new gameset. Absolutely ridiculous", said one of the persons who witnessed the shooting, with Ed asking her if she saw the shooter and her then responding, "Come to think of it, there was something odd. It wasn't anyone trying to cut into the line that caused the trouble, there was a woman that I think, no I'm sure now was your one of your victims walking south on Broadway and clearly not dressed like most of us were, as she was wearing a suit with flip-flops and carrying a pair of pumps in her hand" (the pumps still laying on the subway grating not too far north of where her body was found when they spoke). "A car seemed to be following her, and when they got to where she was, that's when the gunfire went off", then pausing for a second and then yelling "Oh my god! Whoever did this had to be going for her and shot at us as well to make it look like it might have been a fight for the GameSet machines!"

Nina and Dani both overheard the woman while talking to other witnesses, with Nina running over to the one who yelled, with Nina asking, "Are you sure?", and the witness saying, "Postive! Whoever it was in the car only shot at her when they were up close. They clearly were going for her and not any of us on line!", then giving Nina the same description of the car Nina had previously given when calling this into to the 2-7 as Anita Van Buren shows up at the scene, quickly brought up to speed, and a little surprised to see Nina suddenly look taller until realizing it was the first time she had seen Nina wearing more than a kitten-heeled shoe. Anita was also introduced to Dani, who explained she happened to be walking back from having pizza at a well-known place on University Place between 12th and 13th streets under the legendary (to that part of Manhattan) Bolmar Lanes when she saw the commotion of people running from 13th street and ran over, also having seen the car speeding, but at the time not realizing it was potentially part of the crime at the time.

Other witnesses who were near where the trio was shot then confirm that no one had really moved until they saw the gun, and for the two besides Luann who died in the shooting they didn't realize until it was too late what happened, with a total of around 25 shots fired, some of the bullets from which were imbedded in the walls of the building. After finishing with the witnesses, Ed would ask his partner what was with the dress-up anyway, with Nina explaining, "I was on a date with an attorney, and thought it might be something that would go further, but he was really being annoying and after finishing dinner I didn't say anything and quickly walked out while he was in the bathroom. I then saw the line going around the block when I got to 13th and University Place, and was so amazed by it that I forgot about the subway grating, and that's how the heel got stuck", lifting up her leg to show Ed the heel of her shoe.

"No wonder it got stuck in there", then said Ed as all three Detectives then left and headed for St. Vincent's Hospital (on 11th street where 7th Avenue South and Greenwich Avenue meet), where those injured were taken for the most part. Most of the witnesses there confirmed what was said about the car, including some who noticed a car looking suspicious the way it was moving as Luann was.

After finishing with witnesses at the hospital (and Nina having had brought to her from her locker at the 2-7 a more comfortable pair of slip-on flats per her request), Dani, Ed and Nina head for the morgue to console family members of the other two who were shot to death, Richard Carter (no relation to Luann or Dena) and Steve Hammond, as well as a man who was trampled to his death in the stampede to clear, James Berman.

"So, whoever killed my son was actually aiming at that daughter of a b who used that man who killed Vorgitch to try and futher her own political gain? I hope she and whoever did this rots in hell!!", emotionally yelled the mother of Richard Carter to all three detectives, with other relatives of those killed (excluding those of Luann Carter, who were nowhere in sight). Shortly after finishing with them, Dani, Ed and Nina were going to call it a night until they get a call with the license plate number of the car that was used in the shooting and that it was found abandoned on 11th and Washington Streets in the West Village. There, they would interview witnesses who noted a couple, both white and in their 40s-early 50s ran from the car that had blood splattered on it that later would prove to be of the three victims who were shot. Further descriptions and what they got from photos led to sketch artists being called in while all three detectives walked up Washington Street with other witnesses along the way giving them and uniformed officers similar descriptions of people who had run up 12th, Jane, Horatio, Little West 12th and Gavensroot Street before reaching the loft where former ADA Serena Southerlyn lived at that covered the last full block of Washington Street from 13th-14th. Serena just happened to be out walking her dog (and dressed like she was doing so in a sweatshirt, sweatpants and UGG Boots) when the detectives spotted her and vice versa.

- In that part of Manhattan, there is both a 12th and Little West 12th Street.

"I heard about what happened on Broadway, and I was one of those who in called in seeing a car with what looked like blood on it because...", with Serena's voice trailing off until she suddenly yells, Oh my god!!"

"What is it?", asks Ed.

"Don't tell me they went through with it?", then said Serena in a rhetorical question.

"Who went through with what?", then asked Nina.

"James and Nancy Fusco. Their daughter was among those murdered in the restaurant shooting in '97, which they saw in person", then said Serena.

"I do remember them. That was their only child", then said Ed, who then asked Serena how does she know them.

"They live directly above me, but were away when Vorgitch escaped while in custody and murdered those schoolkids. When they heard about what happened, they were among those from what I understand who wrote Arthur and demanded Robert Purcell not be tried at all, and then were furious when they found out about Dena Carter's antics to try and use the case to gain her own political career. They were yelling several times about wanting Ms. Carter to suffer in some way besides jail, which I know because it woke me and others in the building up more than a few times, and you can ask them. I realized it was their car because I've seen them come out of it before", then said Serena while Nina and Dani both received confirmation from sketches run with photos that it was in fact James and Nancy Fusco who were running from the car.

Serena was then thanked, but knowing the Detectives were going to have to arrest the Fuscos, Serena asked if she could knock on the door first to try and explain the situation to them to make it as peaceful as possible.

About 45 minutes later and after dropping off her dog in her loft, Serena knocked on the door of the tenants who lived above her, then once they came to the door asking who it was, Serena said, "It's Serena from downstairs. There are Police Detectives with me, they know it was you who shot up the line in front of the Megastore at 13th and Broadway and killed Luann Carter and two other people, plus caused the death of another person in a mass panic to get away from there along with several other injuries. I saw your car on 11th and Washington when I was walking my dog and saw the blood on it. They are here to take you into custody as they will momentairly have a warrant for your arrest. I only knocked on the door to talk to you to try and keep trouble to a minimum on this, you can come out now and turn yourselves in or you can wait and once they get the warrant, they can force themselves in and arrest you", with Serena then backing away from the door, quickly walking to the entrance to a stairwell in case for some unexpected reason they came out with guns.

After slowly opening the door, Nancy followed by James, still dressed in the clothing they were wearing from the shoot-up then came out with their hands up, taking Serena's advice and turning themselves in, with afterwards Ed thanking Serena again before she returned to her loft and Nina asking Ed how he knew her.

"Serena was often the prosecutor we dealt with in the 2-7 before she was fired almost two years ago by Mr. Branch. Big firm then hired her not even 12 hours later because they knew she was a lesbian and that firm has a lot of clients who specifically want "their kind" working with them", then said Ed.

"So, she worked with you and Fontana?", asked Nina.

"And Lennie Briscoe, god rest his soul before Joe. Lexi Borgia, god rest her soul replaced Serena as McCoy's assistant, and Joe retired because after Lexi's death and his own scare in trying to capture the men responsible for her being murdered. He decided he had enough, plus right before that he hit a pick-six at Aqueduct for close to $3 million and had more than enough to retire on, deciding to concentrate on the horses full-time", then said Ed.

"So Fontana is now a professional horseplayer?", asked Nina.

"Most definitely. Even before he retired, he had quite a few major hits on pick threes, pick fours and pick-sixes. I even went partners on a few pick-fours with him, including a couple that paid over 100 grand each and another that paid over 50 grand. He hit another pick-six in fact a few days ago that paid around 600 grand", then said Ed, with Nina surprised at hearing that part as did Dani, who said to both Detectives, "At least this was a straight homicide after the horror I went through with that girl on my last SVU case".

"That's right! She tried to burn down your apartment!", then said Ed.

"I know, learned a really valuable lesson there. Only had to replace the couch and some curtains, and at least I had the foresight to have renter's insurance anyway", then said Dani as they headed for the 2-7.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimers:_** See Part One 

Waiting for the three Detectives at the 2-7 was Connie Rubirosa, who clearly was very sleepy when the Detectives got there at what was around 5:30 on a Saturday morning, with Connie seeing Nina still wearing the dress (now with a sweater) and hairband/headwrap she was from the night before and saying to her when Nina got there, "I guess you had something interrupted when you caught this", as they walked over to the interrogation room, with Connie yawning and Nina then responding to her by saying, "And we clearly dragged you out of bed", referring to Connie being half-asleep and having thrown on a suit jacket over a simple, full-skirted shirtdress and black, sequined slippers and her short hair being a bit frizzed, looking a bit bigger than usual.

"You guys did drag me out of bed", then said Connie as she yawned again, clearly still very sleepy at this point.

"I see, and yes, I did have a date last night, one that didn't go particularly well", then said Nina, referring to how she was dressed, then saying, "In fact, that's why I wound up at the crime scene so quickly. I happened to be walking on University Place towards the subway at Union Square when I saw the line for the GameSet being around the block, and my looking at that caused the heel of my shoe to get stuck in the subway grating", with Connie then looking down at the flats Nina was wearing and Nina quickly realizing what Connie was looking at and her saying, "Not these shoes. I had 4" heels on earlier, the left one got stuck, I was about to try and get it out and that's when I heard the shots and saw the stampede that followed, just leaving it there. It was like someone was trying to commit mass murder or so it seemed at the time, and that panic I think is the only reason one of the uniformed officers found the shoes. Good thing too, because I nearly had my foot stepped on after that a couple of times before he did."

There was nothing any of the Detectives or Connie could do at that point because the Fuscos had already said they would not talk until their attorney showed. When their attorney did, Nina spotted him first and did an eye-roll, saying to Connie, "Oh, this is wonderful!"

"What do you...", then said Connie until her voice trailed seeing it was Jason Whittaker, then asking Nina, "That was your date last night?", with Nina then nodding and Connie then saying, "Damn! I wished I knew. I could've warned you how much of a jerk he is, as I found out a month and a half ago when I did go on a date with him."

"Did you walk out on him as I did, doing so right after dinner?", asked Nina, with Connie holding off on answering because Jason was walking towards them.

"Oh, what is this? Conference of the scorned?", asked Jason, his realizing there were two women who both had bad dates with him giving him a "death stare" before he went in to talk to his clients. Once inside, Connie replied to Nina, "I did, so teed-off that I walked from where we had dinner at the South Street Seaport all the way back to my apartment on 50th and 9th."

"Ouch! That's something like a good hour-90 minute walk at least. That had to hurt", then said Nina.

"My legs did hurt some from that long a walk, though I was wearing these so it wasn't too bad. I just skipped my normal running the next day", then said Connie, having pointed to the slippers she was wearing before saying, "Unless it's for something specific, I almost never wear heels on a date because of men like him, usually either these, UGGS or western boots", pointing at Jason, still conferencing with the Fuscos.

"Seriously?", then asked Nina.

"Seriously!", replied Connie, who then said, "That started with one guy who drove me nuts to where I not only ran out, but then my proceeding to walk for something like 3-4 hours, forgetting I had heels on before realizing how sore my feet were and stopping. My grandmother, god rest her soul was still living then and saw how much trouble I had walking for a couple of days after that date asked me why I made myself suffer like that."

"So you lived with your grandmother at the time?", then asked Nina.

"From when I first went to law school right up to when she died a year and a half ago. Didn't mind at all, my grandfather had just died when I moved in with her and it first helped her get through that pain and then I think helped her live longer than she would've otherwise", then said Connie.

"And I assume that was her apartment?", then asked Nina.

"It was. Actually, someone in the family has lived in it for something like 75 years, my grandmother for about 50 of those. It's a turn-of-the-century walkup", then said Connie, referring to a building built at the beginning of the 20th century that actually was for many years across the street from the "old" Madison Square Garden (that ran from 8th-9th avenues and 49th-50th streets and closed in 1968, replaced by the still-current Garden and at the site by a high-rise that is part of the Worldwide Plaza complex that opened in 1988-'89).

"So, I assume it's not only rent controlled, but you pay very little for it?", then asked Nina.

"Very, relatively speaking of course", then said Connie.

"That's good. I still live with my parents in Queens, but that's partially the rents and partially my wanting to save to buy a house. Plus, my family is full of cops, and totally understand what that's like", then said Nina, with Jason then coming out.

"My clients won't talk at all until they're arraigned, other than to say they feel in the end they will get what they think is justice for their daughter", then said Jason.

With that, after finishing on some minor paperwork everyone calls it a night (even if it now was around 7:00 on a Saturday morning).

At arraignment first thing Monday morning, the Fuscos plead Not Guilty by reason of extreme emotional distress, which surprised Connie as she was expecting a straight Not Guilty plea. Bail was set at $350,000 for each defendant and both were ordered to psych exams. James would see George Huang (who normally works with the SVU), while Nancy would see Elizabeth Olivet.

In both cases, the Fuscos would tell George and Elizabeth respectively about the horrors they had been going through since the massacre, including all the nightmares of what happened that fateful day in 1997 that many nights for nearly a decade had kept them awake more often than not. After completing such, George and Elizabeth would reveal their discoveries to Jack and Connie.

Elizabeth would go first: "These are very troubled people. Losing a daughter is one thing, seeing her murdered like she was by Vorgitch is quite another. I'm amazed Mrs. Fusco could hold it together at all for that long. They both had to have snapped when they heard about Robert Purcell being convicted for murdering Vorgitch, and the fact that Dena Carter would not allow the jury to consider the lesser charge of Manslaughter 2. They had to have felt, at least in my opinion that Ms. Carter went too far in her representation and had to suffer the way they had.

George would follow by saying: "That's why I got as well talking with Mr. Fusco. They somehow have managed to function and be able to work and so forth, but what I think happened in that trial set off a rage that made them feel Dena Carter had to suffer for what happened."

"So, they did this in the name of Robert Purcell?", then asked Jack.

Elizabeth then said, "I would say that's what happened. I know he got a reduced sentence for agreeing to testify against Ms. Carter, but to the Fuscos, that was not enough. They had to think the conviction should have been thrown out entirely."

"But we couldn't do that, or we'd have copycats use what Robert Purcell did to justify doing similar kinds of revenge murders. It's unfortunate how he was used in that case, but the law said we had to go through with that", then said Jack.

The conversation continued along those lines for several more minutes before Jack and Connie went to see Arthur.

"It's strange we haven't heard from Dena Carter at all on her daughter being murdered", said Arthur to Jack and Connie as they walked in.

"Not really. Given she was about to stand trial for giving Robert Purcell the weapon that was used in the murder of Leon Vorgitch, she's not going to do anything that would cause her to possibly incriminate herself on that, though her trial I'm sure is likely to now get postponed for quite a while", then said Jack.

"If it ever gets to trial. In light of her daughter being murdered as a direct result of her actions with Robert Purcell and Leon Vorgitch, we may have no choice but to drop those charges", then said Arthur.

"She should still have to stand trial, but given what she's suffered, you're probably right", then said Jack, who was resigned to that possibility, though to that point there had been no word yet from her attorney about demanding such.

At this point, walking in to everyone's surprise was Abbie Carmichael.

"What are you doing here?", asked Jack to his former assistant, with Connie also very happy to see her as during the last of three years Abbie was Jack's assistant, Connie was Abbie's assistant and after that was Alex Cabot's main assistant before Alex C. went into witness protection for two years, then was in the Homicide Bureau as assistant to now-Bureau Chief Susanne Chambliss-Gorton before Jack asked her to replace Susanne's late best friend Lexi as his assistant.

Both Jack and Connie realized quickly this wasn't a social call, which Abbie then revealed, "I'm taking over as council for the Fuscos. They remembered I used to be a prosecutor in this office."

"And one who'd probably be in the same job Alex has by now if you hadn't left five years ago", then said Jack.

"I know. 9/11 changed too much in the US Attorney's Office for my tastes. That's why I left there after a year", then said Abbie.

"Though you have done very well for yourself", then said Jack.

"I can say I have", then said Abbie, who then gave Jack her notice of appearence, saying, "The Fuscos felt I would do better on this particular case, not that they felt Jason was a bad lawyer by any means. He understood", with Abbie then leaving.

"Looks like we're going to be in for a rough ride, though I least I won't have to deal with Jason in court", said Connie.

"I know you and Jason don't exactly like each other", then said Jack, with Connie knowing how he meant it, then saying, "You know as when she's been defense attorney on criminal cases, Abbie's never lost a case."

"I know, something like 10-for-10. I know the only time she's the defense attorney, it's a case like this, where she feels the defendants are the real victims", then said Connie.

"Which explains why Jason understood Abbie taking over. He isn't stupid, he knows Abbie's record in these cases. Same reason she was such an asset to this office, and why I think she could be the DA someday", then said Jack.

"If Susanne doesn't go after that ring and get it first", then said Connie, with Jack getting a chuckle knowing how she meant it given how respected Susanne is in the DA's Office, but also knowing she isn't ready yet to make that big of a step.


	3. Conclusion

**_Disclaimers:_** See Part One 

With surprisingly no real motions from either party, the case proceeds to trial in (relatively speaking) an extremely quick fashion. Before that, however, charges were quietly dropped against Dena Carter for her role in the murder of Leon Vorgitch in light of the murder of her daughter, while Robert Purcell was given a pardon by the Governor in light of the circumstances that resulted in his role in the murder of Leon Vorgitch. The latter developments didn't please Jack at all, even though he understood why they were done, as it was going to hinder his case against the Fuscos. Even without that, wanting to avoid a repeat of what happened with Robert Purcell, Jack offered the Jury the chance to consider lesser charges of Man 1 and Man 2 on each count (as there were four deaths), which Abbie and the Fuscos accepted as options before going to trial, with it clear they wanted their day in court.

After opening arguments, Several witnesses who saw the car and the shooters would come first, explaining what the saw, with the car following Luann as she walked south on Broadway towards 13th street, with their noting she clearly was not dressed for waiting on line for the GameSet4 that was slated to come out later the night of the shooting. Those witnesses made it clear in their opinion the Fuscos did the shooting there to make it look like some sort of mob or gang hit knowing how many people were waiting to get their hands on the GameSets, also noting how with the product still in very limited supply they were still being sold at online auction sites for as much as $50,000. Nina followed by Ed and Dani then testified as to what they saw at the crime scene.

Serena was the next witness, with her explaining what she saw, "I happened to be out walking my dog around 2:00 in the morning in the area where the car was found, as I live on Washington between 13th and 14th and often take my dog down to where the car was abandoned as it's relatively quiet. I dialed 911 as soon as I saw the Fusco's car, but when I made that call I thought something had tragically gone wrong and they had been kidnapped, not realizing until I talked with Detectives Beck, Cassidy and Green and remembered the shooting at 13th and Broadway."

"And what made you realize they had done it?", then asked Jack.

"Ever since they got back from a trip following what Leon Vorgitch did to those kids, their blood had been boiling. They had many times been screaming at the top of their lungs how Vorgitich deserved to die, and were very happy when they found out he had been killed by Robert Purcell. I do remember specifically the Fuscos, as well as others who lost friends and loved ones in the restaurant massacre in 1997 asked Mr. Branch not to prosecute Mr. Purcell at all, though I know being a former prosecutor myself Mr. Branch had no choice but to given the precedent it could set if it wasn't done", then said Serena.

"And that precedent would be?", then asked Jack, with Abbie objecting because of relevance and Judge Sirkin sustaining, with Jack then asking Serena how she could hear them so well, and Serena responding by saying, "I've lived directly below the Fuscos since I first moved into the building with my then-husband in 1995", referring to her late ex-husband Doug Southerlyn, who was brutally murdered in the spring of 2003, three and a half years before this case went to trial (a few years after her divorce), pausing briefly before resuming, "They had yelled many times they wanted Vorgitch dead, and when Robert Purcell was tried for killing him and Dena Carter did what she did, they screamed how much they felt her going to jail wasn't enough, that she had to suffer the same way the parents of the victims of Leon Vorgitch's murders did, as only then she would truly understand what she did. I just never dreamed they'd actually do it."

"And once you realized they did, what did you do?", then asked Jack.

"Being a former prosecutor and knowing the proceedings, I went up with Detectives Beck, Green and Cassidy to their apartment to knock on their door explaining they and other officers were with me, as I was afraid they would otherwise either try and take their own lives or come out with guns blazing. In fact, even with knocking on the door, I still quickly walked to a stairwell close to their apartment just in case they did have guns in tow", then said Serena.

With that, Jack was finished with questioning his former assistant, with Abbie beginning cross-examining by asking her successor as Jack's assistant, "You said you have lived directly below the Fuscos for 11 years now. Were they always the way you described them when Mr. McCoy asked?", with Serena then replying by saying, "Before their daughter was murdered, they were very nice people, and my now-late ex and I used to run into them and their daughter quite a bit. Afterwards, they were very distraught and became quite a bit isolated, though over time that seemed to get better, especially after 9/11, but only for a while. They managed to be able to work and function like normal people, but seeing their daughter murdered like that really took it's toll emotionally."

"Which you can relate to because your ex-husband and his second wife were among six murdered in April 2003 when as Athletic Director of (place name of fictional University here) he denied his basketball team the opportunity to play in the postseason because of a scandal involving the coach, who also was among those murdered by the Grushkovs over what happened", with Jack objecting to that line of questioning on relevance, and Judge Sirkin sustaining.

With that, Serena then stepped down.

From there, Jack calls Dena Carter to the stand. To this point, Dena had been silent about her daughter's murder, but knowing charges against her had just been dropped in light of her daughter being killed by others due to her earlier actions, she would be very open when she testified, first when asked by Jack what her motive was in having Vorgitch murdered: "Leon Vorgitch was a brutal killer who didn't care who his victims were. That was obvious in first the restaurant shooting in 1997 and then when he killed a man who was guarding him when being transported back here before killing those kids. Mr. Vorgitch was a shining example of why we need the death penalty back in New York State."

Jack then said to Dena, "You were aware I was about to proceed with trying to put Mr. Vorgitch back on death row for his actions in the killing of the kids in that school when you had him murdered by telling Robert Purcell when and where Mr. Vorgitch would be?", with Abbie objecting to the line of questioning on relevence and Jack responding by saying this was very much relevant to what happened to Luann, with Judge Sirkin overruling the objection. Dena then answered by saying, "What were the chances he would ever be executed without the legislature passing a new death penalty stature? Leon Vorgitch got justice for what he did, but what should never have happened was first Robert Purcell ever spending a minute in jail for shooting him and then my daughter being brutally murdered for my trying to get justice for the families of those who lost loved ones at the hands of Vorgitch!"

With that, Jack was finished with Dena, and Abbie began her cross by saying to Dena, "It's funny how you mention the 'families of loved ones', since one of those families that lost a loved one in the restaurant massacre in '97 was the Fuscos. Do you really think they wanted to kill your daughter if they were of a sound mind?"

Dena then responded by saying, "I can't understand why they felt killing my daughter would 'send a message.' I know in retrospect in the trial of Robert Purcell I should have allowed the jury to consider second degree manslaughter, but that doesn't give the Fuscos or anyone else the right to murder my daughter, who was completely innocent in all of this!"

"So, you do realize had you allowed the jury to consider second degree manslaughter in the case against Mr. Purcell that your daughter would still be alive?", then asked Abbie, with Jack objecting on relevance, but Judge Sirkin overruling.

Dena then answered the question: "That is true in she would still be alive, but that should be the case anyway. My daughter had nothing to do with my actions whatsoever", with Abbie then saying to Dena, "You certainly weren't thinking about anyone but yourself when you wouldn't allow the jury in the case against Mr. Purcell to consider a lesser charge?", with Jack then objecting and Abbie withdrawing the question, then finished with Dena, who stepped down.

Robert Purcell was the next witness. Jack would ask him exactly how he wound up on trial in the first place, with his saying, "After Leon Vorgitch escaped, he went into the school my daughter was in and with no regard to anyone shot her and seven other kids. All of the parents of those killed by Vorgitch felt something had to be done to 'send a message' that even trying him with a death penalty that could never be enforced being attached wasn't enough, and Ms. Carter set it up where I would shoot and kill Mr. Vorgitch. Of course, we couldn't have known that Ms. Carter's real intentions were to further her own political gain. That was why I agreed to testify against her in a trial that we now know will never take place thanks to the Fuscos murdering her daughter in their own twisted idea of revenge. I'm sorry they lost their daughter as one who lost his thanks to Mr. Vorgitch as well, but murdering Dena Carter's daughter, even if what Ms. Carter did was wrong doesn't make anything right."

Jack then was finished, with Abbie declining to ask Robert any questions and his stepping down. This concluded the prosecution's case, with Abbie then starting her's for the defense by calling several relatives of other victims of the 1997 massacre, with their explaining the kinds of emotions they went through at the time of the original shooting along with after that and then what they were feeling when they found out that Leon Vorgitch had first escaped, murdering a corrections officer and then murdered the schoolkids. All were pretty much in unison in their views that Robert Purcell should never have been tried in the first place for killing Vorgitch and also saying how in their cases they also wanted Dena Carter to suffer in a way that jail could not do so because of how she was looking at her own political aspirations, taking advantage of a man who had lost his daughter to Vorgitch's act in the school. Jack would in cross with these witnesses ask if they were thinking of going as far as the Fuscos did in murdering Luann Carter and in the process shooting two others to death and causing the death of a fourth person, with all of them saying they would while they had thought of that, none of them would have actually done so.

George Huang and Elizabeth Olivet were next for Abbie, as Jack had declined to have them testify for the prosecution. George and Elizabeth would both testify that they felt that what Dena did brought back nightmares to the Fuscos they originally suffered when their daughter had been killed in 1997. In each case, George and Elizabeth would go on to say how hearing what happened to Robert Purcell was too much, and that Dena had to pay in a way jail would never do for what she did, which led to their deciding murdering her only child would be the only way they could "send a message." In cross, Jack would ask why that was the case, and in each case George and Elizabeth would say how they had just become way too distraught and could not realize that murdering Luann Carter wasn't going to bring justice for their daughter.

Nancy and James Fusco followed. Both basically re-interated what George and Elizabeth had said about what they had been going to, in each case adding how what Dena Carter did had opened up too many old wounds in their mind, with their becoming insensed to the point that Dena Carter had to suffer. While in cross Nancy didn't say anything when she was on the stand with Jack, James did, responding to what how they knew where to follow Luann by saying, "We knew Luann Carter lived in a high-rise on 11th and Broadway and that she often walked home from 14th after getting off the subway there. We also knew she usually walked past the store that was selling the GameSets, so if we timed it right, we could do what we felt was necessary and no one would realize. We had no choice in our minds, and I'm sorry those other people lost their lives, but what Dena Carter did is something that could not be paid for by rotting in jail herself!", with James becoming increasingly emotional towards the end.

That concluded Abbie's case, and in closing arguments she reminded the jurors of the pain and suffering the Fuscos had been dealing with for nearly a decade while Jack then said how while that was true, it didn't give them the right to murder Luann Carter and cause the deaths of Richard Carter, James Berman and Steve Hammond. The latter point did hold with the jury, as while they did accquit the Fuscos of second degree murder on all four counts, they did convict on lesser charges of first degree manslaughter in the case of Luann and second degree manslaughter in the cases of Richard Carter and Steve Hammond, though they also completely accquitted the Fuscos in the case of James Berman. It would be worked out a short time later where the Fuscos would serve all sentences concurrently rather than consecutively, which Judge Sirkin would accept given the circumstances in this case. The longest of those would be an 10-15 year sentence on the Man 1 charge.

The final scene takes place on an unseasonably warm early February Friday evening (temperatures in the low 60s) with Connie running into Abbie by pure chance on Broadway and Leonard Streets, shortly after sentencing actually took place.

"Guess you have a hot date", said Connie to Abbie, notcing Abbie was wearing a metalic gold blouse with a matching hairband/headwrap in her hair and well above-the-knee black skirt with black 4" stiletto pumps and carrying a suit jacket.

"Only if you consider a 'hot date' to be opposing council in a lawsuit", Abbie then replied as Connie then saw she also was carrying a briefcase", with Abbie then saying, "To be honest, I'd rather be wearing what you are", seeing Connie wearing a white turtleneck with a skirt similar to Abbie's and black UGG boots, carrying a denim jacket. After pausing for a second, Abbie then said to Connie, "Anyway, The Fuscos were very satisfied. They mainly wanted their day in court above all else, and I think in retrospect they were resigned to serving at least some time even before they asked me to take over the case."

Connie then replied by saying, "That's what I figured, seeing them at the sentencing. Deep down, I think they knew they weren't going to get off completely, but I'm surprised they got off as light as they did."

Abbie then said to Connie, "We both did our jobs, as did Jack, speaking of which, how is he?"

"He's doing fine, a lot better than I expected given he still blames himself for Lexi's death, though not as much as before", Connie then replied.

"He can't blame himself for that. I know if Jack tried to pull the Andreas case from me, I would have been furious, though after the murders that happened before she was killed I probably would have pulled back", then said Abbie.

"I know. Susanne made it clear to Jack that there was nothing he nor anyone else could have done to have prevented her murder", then said Connie.

"That's right! You would know that because you were Susanne's assistant before Lexi was killed!", Abbie then replied.

"Right up to and including her becoming Buereau Chief", then said Connie as the ladies then continued briefly before continuing to where they were headed (Abbie to meet opposing council on a case, Connie to somewhere she could have dinner, undecided of what she wanted to do after that).


End file.
